Saturday, March 29, 2014

Just the words Top
Secret conjure up images of intrigue, conspiracies, and clandestine
operations. These off-limits sites exist all over the world with the various
governments keeping activities hidden from public knowledge…safely ensconced
behind those closed doors and security fences.
It's a given that most of the secrets probably have to do with research
for new weapons and defense systems.

A while back, I came across an article listing 12 top secret
locations, certainly not the total number of these sites…not even close…but an
interesting list.

Cheyenne Mountain
Complex

This bunker near Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a relic from
the days of the Cold War. Located
literally inside Cheyenne Mountain, it was originally designed as a combat
operations center with its own water, electricity supply, air filtration system
and built to withstand a nuclear blast [a 1960s size nuclear blast]. This facility has been given new vitality as
a result of nine-eleven. It currently
participates guarding against ballistic attack, supports space operations, and
assists in keeping American and Canadian airspace safe. The U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force Space
Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and Missile
Defense Agency all maintain a presence at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex…and
that's a lot of organizations devoted to secrecy. But the secrecy of the location? Well…there is a picture of it on NORAD's
website and I recall seeing a kind of mini-tour several years ago on a
television documentary. But, with that
many secrecy organizations involved,
there's probably a lot more going on there than meets the eye.

Area 51

Undoubtedly the most famous…or infamous…secret facility in the world. Even though its location in the Nevada desert
was known and a topic of much speculation, the government refused to even
acknowledge its existence until 1995.
And anything that secret is
ripe for all kinds of conspiracy theories, some going back to Roswell, New
Mexico, 1947, and the alleged alien spacecraft crash with the alien bodies
supposedly taken to Area 51. With many
of the stealth technology aircraft tested there in secret, it must have looked
like strange alien craft flying overhead.
And now you can see Area 51 via Google Earth. Sort of takes away some of that mystique and
secrecy.

Site R

It's official name is Raven Rock Mountain Complex and it's
an underground relocation facility for the Department of Defense, sometimes
referred to as the underground Pentagon. It's located in Pennsylvania about 6 miles
from the Camp David presidential retreat.
There's speculation that a tunnel connects Camp David and Site R. Like Cheyenne Mountain, this was a cold war
era bunker given new purpose and life following nine-eleven.

The Capitol Visitor
Center

Located on the east side of the Capitol, as the name implies
its purpose is to welcome visitors to Washington, D.C. But there is a theory that within or beneath
the 580,000 square-foot building is a top-secret area for Congress to use in
emergencies. Giving credence to this
theory are 4 bomb-proof skylights, a tunnel system large enough for vehicles to
move around and a sophisticated IT infrastructure with thousands of feet of
fiber-optic cable.

National Security
Agency/Stellar Wind

According to Wired
Magazine, the NSA is building the largest spy center in the country in
Bluffdale, Utah. This is where the NSA
will intercept and inspect billions of calls, email, Google searches, travel
itineraries, book purchases, and other miscellaneous digital information. Stellar Wind is the codename for this
surveillance program. The NSA created a
supercomputer of almost unimaginable speed to look for patterns and unscramble
codes. While the CIA is better known as
an intelligence gathering agency, the NSA is three times its size and costs
more. The NSA is considered the most
powerful intelligence agency in the world today.

This program resulted in public disclosure by whistle blower
William Binney in 2002 and most recently Edward Snowden in 2013.

Pine Gap, Australia

This is considered by many to be the Australian Area 51, the ground station for a
network that intercepts telephone, radio, and data links from around the world.

Camp Peary

Located near Williamsburg, Virginia, Camp Peary (known as The Farm) is an area of 10,000 acres
said to be where CIA agents receive covert training.

Mount Yamantau

Located in the Ural Mountains, the U.S. suspects this
Russian site of being a large secret nuclear facility. It's near one of Russia's last remaining
nuclear labs and is part of their Dead
Hand nuclear retaliatory command structure.

Liberty Crossing

Based in a complex in McLean, Virginia, this is home to the
National Counterterrorism Center. It
utilizes experts from the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, and other agencies, to avoid
large scale terror plots. Each office is
essentially a vault.

RAF Menwith Hill

This Royal Air Force station located near Harrogate, North
Yorkshire, England, is said to be the largest electronic monitoring station in
the world. It is operated by the U.S.
National Reconnaissance Office and is part of ECHELON, created during the Cold
War.

Negev Nuclear
Research Center

Located in Israel's Negev Desert, the facility was built in
1958 and is widely assumed to be a manufacturing site for nuclear weapons.

Porton Down

This is a government and military science park located near Wiltshire, England. Although the term science park makes it sound more like a children's learning-can-be-fun type of place,
that's not even close. In World War I,
it studied chemical warfare. With the
passing decades, studies changed from mustard gas to nerve agents in the
1940s. It continued to study biological
warfare.

Planet Earth might be a global society out of necessity, but
we obviously are not a harmonious global society.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

There are many people in the movie industry who are
considered legends, those who were nominated and deserved the Academy Award but
never received that elusive Oscar®. Some
of the names will even strike you as What?
That can't be true. He/She must have won at least once.

So, in no particular order, here is a cross-section of
deserving but passed over nominees for the movie industry's coveted statuette.

1) Alfred Hitchcock

With a string of directorial masterpieces to his credit, he
never won one of the prized statuettes.
However, in 1968 he was presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of
work.

2) Cary Grant

He made it look easy which sometimes prevented people from
realizing just how good he was—adept at light comedy (and even slapstick) as
well as drama. However, in 1970 he was
presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of work.

3) Peter O'Toole

He holds the record for the most Best Actor nominations (8)
without a win with his most famous role probably Lawrence of Arabia. My personal favorite of Peter O'Toole's films
is My Favorite Year, one of his few
comedy films. However, in 2003 he was
presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of work.

4) Deborah Kerr

Many outstanding roles, certainly From Here To Eternity and also The
King And I, nominated six times but no wins. However, in 1994 she was presented an
honorary Oscar® for her body of work.

5) Richard Burton

Many outstanding performances including an exceptional one
in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. Six nominations, five of them for Best Actor, but no wins.

6) Albert Finney

The British actor is probably best known for Tom Jones, one of his earlier
films. He's had five nominations and no
wins. My favorite Albert Finney film
(along with an incredible cast including several Oscar® winners) is Murder On The Orient Express with his
marvelous portrayal of Hercule Poirot.

7) Angela Lansbury

Today she's best known for her award winning role of Jessica
Fletcher, the retired school teacher turned mystery novelist and amateur sleuth
in the long running television series Murder,
She Wrote. In addition to
television, she has an impressive award winning string of Broadway productions
and before that three nominations for films.
One of her Oscar® nominations was for a riveting performance in the
original film of The Manchurian Candidate
with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey (she played his mother even though they
were only a few months apart in age).

8) Fred Astaire

Although best known for a stellar career in a long string of
very successful musicals (many with his long time partner, Ginger Rogers), his
one and only nomination came for a dramatic role in Towering Inferno.

9) Charlie Chaplin

He is one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of
Hollywood. Even though he never won for
either acting or directing, I wasn't sure whether to add him to this list of never won an Oscar® because he did win
one for Best Original Musical Score in 1952 for Limelight. However, in 1972
he was presented with an honorary Oscar® for his body of work and received the
longest standing ovation in Academy Awards history (over twelve minutes).

There are, of course, many more nominated
actors/actresses/directors who deserve but haven't yet had their name engraved
on an Oscar®.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Since nine-eleven we have certainly given lots of thought to
our emergency first responders—firefighters and police officers—true heroes who
respond immediately to the scene when life is threatened. Every day these brave men and women put their
lives on the line to protect us from disasters, whether the result of criminal
actions or devastation brought about by natural disasters.

A while back I came across an article titled A Day In The Life Of A United States Coast
Guard Rescue Swimmer. It talked
about his training and related the events of his first dangerous sea rescue
during a raging storm.

It got me thinking about a Coast Guard rescue I saw covered
live on television many years ago.

Summer 1993 (that's right, a little over twenty years ago)—my
first Romance Writers of America national conference. Flood waters inundated the Midwest. The Mississippi River was way out of its
banks. That year's RWA conference was
being held in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior
to the conference, there had been lots of speculation about whether the
conference would be cancelled or its location changed due to the flooding. Even though the Mississippi River flood
waters reached almost to the base of the St. Louis Arch, the conference hotel on
the other side of the freeway from the Arch was high and dry as was the
airport, so the conference went as scheduled.

There were some interesting moments of weather during the
conference. Late one afternoon during a
thunderstorm, there was a lightning strike on the sidewalk very close to the
hotel…close enough that the noise sounded like a large explosion and you could
see the resulting scorch marks and damage on the sidewalk. Every day television carried live coverage of
buildings being swept away, people trying to save whatever personal belongings
they could, animals being rescued, etc.

On Sunday morning following the conference, I had television
on in my room while I was packing before meeting a friend for lunch then going
to the airport to catch my flight back to Los Angeles. A local helicopter news crew caught a
spectacular rescue for live television broadcast. The images were riveting as I watched them happening live. A white wood frame two story
farmhouse totally surrounded by swift flowing water. No land in sight, only the tops of
trees. A man on the roof frantically waving
both arms in the air to attract the attention of anyone who could help him.

Then, as if on cue, the Coast Guard rescue helicopter crew
arrived on the scene. They lowered a
line and pulled the man from the roof of his house. As he dangled in midair, before
they could even get him inside the helicopter, the entire house collapsed and
was washed away leaving nothing visible other than debris floating on the
water.

Two hours later this same rescue crew appeared in the lobby
of our conference hotel. With the
helipad on the roof, the hotel had become their temporary staging area for the
next twenty-four hours. These four young
men were surrounded by women all wanting to get hero material for their next
romance novel—and understandably so.
They were true heroes in every sense of the word.

That same weekend a major league baseball team was in town
to play the St. Louis team and were staying at the same hotel as the RWA
conference. Professional jocks in a
hotel with 2,000 women—a match made in heaven?

Definitely not!

From my personal observations, several of the baseball
players (certainly not all of them) were rude and arrogant, making uncalled for
snide comments when they were ignored by the women…in the coffee shop, at the
elevators while waiting for one of the cars to make it to the ground floor
after stopping on every floor (anyone who has ever attended a conference with 2,000
people knows what a hassle the entire waiting-for-an-elevator
thing can be), in the lobby bar and in the lobby in general.

Then the Coast Guard rescue crew arrived. The baseball players were almost trampled in
the stampede to get to the obviously embarrassed Coast Guard crew who were soon
surrounded in a corner of the lobby.
Blatantly apparent that the true heroes of the day were the ones in
demand rather than those inflated egos whose noses were bent out of shape.

Just an interesting observation that came to mind while
reading the article about the Coast Guard rescue swimmer.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Please join me in welcoming
author JoAnne Myers to my blog this week.JoAnne will be sharing information about her mystery, MURDER MOST
FOUL.But first, could you tell us a little
bit about yourself?

AUTHOR BIO:

I hail from the famous
Hocking Hills region of southeastern Ohio. I have worked in the blue-collar
industry most of my life. Besides having several novels under my belt, I also
canvass paint.

When not busy with hobbies or
working outside the home, I spend time with relatives, my dogs Jasmine and
Scooter, and volunteer my time within the community. I am a member of the
Hocking Hill's Arts and Craftsmen Association, The Hocking County Historical
Society and Museum, and the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center. I believe in
family values and following your dreams.

MURDER MOST FOUL—Blurb: When
two dismembered torsos wash up on the banks of the local river in the small
industrial town of Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between
contradicting statements, police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest,
the motorcycle gang The Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime
scene, everyone becomes a suspect.

The young beautiful Jackie
Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She
contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made,
but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local
cops. Determined to find the truth, before anymore killings, Agent Harmon and
Jackie are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks
them for death.

MURDER MOST FOUL—PG-13 Excerpt: Undaunted and short on patience, the
agent stared at the fat jerk sitting before him gleefully puffing on a cigar,
most likely homegrown in Detroit, Michigan, not Cuba. “I attend the Kingdom
Hall on occasion,” he said.

“Well most of us like Malloy.
He's helped rid this town of criminals. He was a volunteer firefighter, and his
wife cooks for the annual policeman's ball. Hell, Malloy even coached
volleyball for the kids when he wuz younger. Now a person who does that ain't
all bad,” the chief declared.

Barstow's sudden burst of
energy to safeguard his fishy friend, picqued Harmon's interest. What had
Malloy done? He decided he wasn't leaving until he had the full, sordid story.

“So you and Malloy are pals,
and he did something he couldn't get out of, and you tried to salvage his job,
but the big shots said, ‘No!' Is that how it went?” Harmon asked.

“Yeah, Malloy did somethin’
real stupid.”

“I'm listening,” Harmon
replied.

“The rumors of Malloy
allowin' his friends and family members to snoop through the cornfield, and
photograph the area after the victims were removed, was true. Everyone is
curious about this crime. Nothin' this big ever happened in this town before,
and the pictures were for souvenirs, you know. Then after the limbs were
removed, he brought in a back hoe, and tore up the whole damned crime scene, involving
Thomas.” The chief growled in disgust.

“Yeah, that was stupid,”
Harmon said. “So Malloy's unethical conduct was the reason the disciplinary
board was in session?”

“Yep, they made their
decision this mornin',” the chief said. “He's out. There was nothin' I could do
for him.”

“You'd think a cop with over
twenty years’ experience would demonstrate better reasoning then destroy
evidence. Unless he's covering his own tracks,” Harmon said realizing what he
was implying. “Do you believe Malloy committed the murders?”

“Now, I didn't say that. A
lot of officers were on this case, so a lot of mistakes happened. We never
dealt with this type crime before. Many might have made the same mistakes
Malloy did.”

Dismissing the chief's
excuses for Malloy's incompetence, Harmon demanded an answer. He was tired of
being duped by the local cops and wanted the truth, and wanted it now. Standing
and placing both palms on the chief's shiny desk, the agent looked the chief
square in his squinty brown eyes and said, “Cough it up, Chief! There's more to
it then that. If there were numerous mistakes made by officers other then
Malloy, why was he the only one kicked off the force? Now spit it out! What the
hell did Malloy do?”

“All right, all right!” the
chief whined, “Malloy screwed the dead girl three weeks before she was
killed–and got caught!”

The Agent was speechless.
Walking to the window overlooking Main Street, he stared vacantly. Hadn't one
of our witnesses suggested something like that? But–with the crisp wind howling,
the citizens dining in the local cafés, others window shopping for Christmas or
starting their shift at the town's businesses–this seems unreal. How can such a
seemingly sweet country town be so full of bad apples, savage murders, police
misconduct and corruption, evidence tampering? This town is certainly no
Mayberry, thought Harmon.

Other books available by JoAnne Myers:

“The Crime of the Century” a
biography true crime novel

“Wicked Intentions” a
paranormal/mystery anthology

“Poems About Life, Love, and
Everything in Between” a poetry collection

Upcoming novels from Melange Books are:

"Love, Myths, and
Monsters," a fantasy anthology due out late February

“Flagitious,” a crime and paranormal novella collection
available late 2014

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Just like all the other months, March has its share of
bizarre, unusual, and unique holidays.
March also has month long celebrations:
Music in Our Schools Month, National Craft Month, National Frozen Food
Month, National Irish American Heritage Month (designated by Congress in 1995),
National Nutrition Month, National Peanut Month, National Women's History
Month, Red Cross Month, and Social Workers Month.

In addition to the month long celebrations, March also has
some week long celebrations. The second week
in March is host to two celebrations: National Bubble Week and also Crochet
Week.

March 1 National Pig Day

March 1 Peanut Butter Lovers Day

March 2 Old Stuff Day—always celebrated on
March 2. When asking someone
"What's new?" or "What's happening?" you quite often get
the stock answer of "Same old stuff."
Old Stuff Day is in recognition of that standard answer indicating a
boring life. This is a day to NOT do the
same old stuff and perpetuate your boring routine. Do something…anything…as long as it's
different.

March 3 I Want You To Be Happy Day

March 3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day

March 3 National Anthem Day

March 3 Peach Blossom Day

March 4 Holy Experiment Day

March 4 Hug A GI Day—always celebrated on March
4. Give a big hug to any and all GIs you
see today. It's a small thanks to the
men and women who serve their country.

March 5 Multiple Personality Day.

March 6 Dentist's Day

March 6 National Frozen Food Day

March 7 National Crown Roast Of Pork Day

March 7 Employee Appreciation Day (the first
Friday in March)

March 7 National Salesperson Day (the first
Friday in March)

March 8 Be Nasty Day

March 8 International (Working) Women's Day

March 9 Panic Day—always celebrated on March
9). Try to stay calm. Take a deep breath. Will you be able to handle today? Don't worry or fret and, above all, don't
panic.

March 10 Middle Name Pride Day

March 11 Johnny Appleseed Day

March 11 Worship of Tools Day

March 12 Girl Scout Day

March 12 Plant A Flower Day

March 13 Ear Muff Day—always celebrated on March
13. This seems to be doubly appropriate
given all the cold, snowy, and icy weather we've had in my part of the country
this winter. In addition to keeping your
ears warm, they protect you from ear infections and ear aches resulting from
icy cold wind and weather. They come in
a variety of designs and colors to fit almost anyone's personality.

March 13 Jewel Day

March 13 Popcorn Lovers Day

March 14 Learn About Butterflies Day

March 14 National Potato Chip Day

March 14 National Pi Day—celebrated on 3.14, which
is the value of Pi.

March 15 Everything You Think Is Wrong Day—always
celebrated March 15. This is the day
when nothing goes right and we've all had those days. This is a special day to recognize that
everyone has the occasional bad day.

March 15 Ides Of
March, as made famous by Shakespeare when the soothsayer says to Caesar, Beware the Ides of March.

March 15 Incredible Kid Day

March 15 Dumbstruck Day—always celebrated March
15. This is the day to be dumbstruck
over the things you see, hear, and read.
Today is the day to be dumbstruck like the rest of us without guilt or
embarrassment.

March 15 National Quilting Day (the third Saturday
in March)

March 16 Everything You Do Is Right Day—always
celebrated on March 16. This could be
the perfect day. Some days are good,
some are bad, and most are a combination of both good and bad. Today is the opposite of yesterday…Everything
You Think Is Wrong Day.

March 16 Freedom Of Information Day

March 17 Submarine Day (the sandwich or the boat?)

March 17 St. Patrick's Day

March 18 Goddess of Fertility Day

March 18 supreme Sacrifice Day

March 19 Poultry Day

March 20 International Earth Day

March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day—always
celebrated March 20. Keep an eye on the
skies and be ready to duck and hide.
Celebrate today by reading and watching science fiction stories about
UFOs, but be sure to keep out of sight…just in case.

March 20 Proposal Day

March 21 Fragrance Day

March 22 National Goof Off Day

March 23 National Chip And Dip Day

March 23 Near Miss Day

March 24 National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

March 25 National Agriculture Day (date varies)

March 25 Pecan Day

March 25 Waffle Day

March 26 Make Up Your Own Holiday Day—always
celebrated March 26. The object of this
day is to allow one day for a topic or event of your choice that has otherwise
escaped special recognition. Simply
declare this to be whatever special holiday you wish.

March 27 National "Joe" Day

March 28 Something On A Stick Day

March 29 National Mom And Pop Business Owners Day

March 29 Smoke And Mirrors Day

March 30 National Doctor's Day

March 30 I Am In Control Day—always celebrated
March 30. This day is closely related to
March 9th Panic Day. Perhaps you went
through Panic Day before getting things under control and now you're
celebrating.

March 30 Take A Walk In The Park Day

March 31 Bunsen Burner Day

March 31 National Clam On The Half Shell Day—always
celebrated on March 31. Thank goodness
someone thought to create this holiday.
Don't hide in your shell today and don't clam up. Get out and celebrate!

At The Tycoon's Command

A decades old feud...could they stop fighting long enough to find some common ground for love?

Cowboy Dreaming

Did her desire to heal a ten year rift with her father get her more than she bargained for?

Falling For The Enemy

She's determined to prove he's a ruthless shark responsible for her father's death. Is she wrong?

Fortune's Secret Child

Book #3 of a 5 book continuity series featuring the Arizona branch of the wealthy and powerful Fortune family. Can love and trust be rekindled after so much heartbreak, especially with a small child at the center of the situation? A self-contained story that also includes elements of the storyline that starts in book #1 and concludes in book #5.

Having The Best Man's Baby

He broke her teenage heart when they were in high school. Was it about to happen again?

In Forbidden Territory

She was his best friend's sister and declared off-limits. Was he playing with fire?

In His Safekeeping

Witnesses in a federal racketeering case have been dying in 'mysterious' accidents. Can he keep her alive while trying to figure out what's happening...and why?

Lover Unknown

Lauren Jamison's psychic vision showed a man falling from a cliff, then Kyle Delaney knocked on her door bringing life threatening danger.